Title:Jane Eyre Author: Charlotte Bronte Date of Publication: 1847 Literary Period: Victorian Genre: Gothic
Describe the setting and then explain the relevance of the setting. The novel progresses through these five locations from beginning to end.
Gateshead is where the story begins. Jane lives here with the cold cousins and aunt who is bound by the dying words of Jane's uncle to keep her. At Gateshead Jane is angry and shy.
Lowood is where Jane meets Helen Burns who teaches Jane humility and true Christianity rather than religion. Jane matures into a young woman with skills so that she can hold her own in society.
Thornfield is Jane's first job as a governess. Here she meets Rodchester (NOOOOO!!!!!)
Moor's House is where Jane goes after running away from Thornfield. She is saved from near death by St. John and family who end up being her other set of cousins
Ferndean Hall is another one of Rodchester's properties where he and Jane end up living together. At this point Jane accepts Rodchester's hand in marriage because she is set financially and educationally enough to survive without him and is therefore not his dependent. Themes (These statements should be complete sentences and completely developed ideas)
Religion vs Christianity
Through juxtaposition of characters like Helen Burns and Eliza Reed Bronte expresses the difference between religion with its strict rules and guidelines and true Christianity which is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Love vs. Obligation
Bronte shows Plot Summary (Please do not copy and paste. Simply list the high points of the novel) - Consider creating a visual flow chart or graph and posting it here.
11 year old Jane lives in Gateshead with harsh and bitter aunt, Mrs. Reed and her cousins who bully her, Eliza, Georgiana, and especially the tortuous child, John Reed. Jane has no protection in Gateshead. Jane is in Gateshead through Mrs. Reed's obligation to Mr. Reed's dying wish to care for his niece.
As Sandra Gilbert asserts, Victorian women had three ways to escape their social imprisonment, one being escaping through madness (which is passionate). Jane, fed up, hits John Reed in the face in self-defense (madness technically).
Mrs. Reed retaliates by locking Jane in the RED ROOM for the night (the same room that Jane's uncle died in). Jane resists and is tied and locked away in the dark spooky room and almost goes insane. The young child thinks she sees an apparition, gets a high fever, and is sickly for the ensuing weeks.
Dr. Lloyd, the only person to care for Jane so far (besides her nurse Bessie), negotiates for the opportunity for Jane to go to boarding school. She accepts. Mrs. Reed does her best to make sure that Lowood (the boarding school) is a miserable experience by tainting Jane's name during her evaluation by Mr. Brocklehurst (the dean?)
Lowood school where she meets Helen Burns. Burns is a Christ figure and one of the first if not the only one to impart spirituality and Chrisitanity in Jane rather than strict and cold religion. Helen dies. Jane is a phenom at Lowood. Learns how to not care what others think and realizes that she is accepted by her peers and teachers, especially Ms. Temple.
Jane's remaining years at Lowood as a student and then a teacher are uneventful. Jane finds herself bored and complacent, so she applies for a new position outside of Lowood, recieving an opportunity to teacher a young girl in Thornfield.
Jane journeys to Thornfield and meets Mrs. Fairfax and Adele, the young girl she is to teach. Adele's father, however, remains a mysterious figure until Jane uknowingly meets him going into town.
She and Mr. Rochester find a certain likeness between each other, enjoying each other's companionship as he stays at Thornfield for longer than usual.
Gateshead is where the story begins. Jane lives here with the cold cousins and aunt who is bound by the dying words of Jane's uncle to keep her. At Gateshead Jane is angry and shy.
Lowood is where Jane meets Helen Burns who teaches Jane humility and true Christianity rather than religion. Jane matures into a young woman with skills so that she can hold her own in society.
Thornfield is Jane's first job as a governess. Here she meets Rodchester (NOOOOO!!!!!)
Moor's House is where Jane goes after running away from Thornfield. She is saved from near death by St. John and family who end up being her other set of cousins
Ferndean Hall is another one of Rodchester's properties where he and Jane end up living together. At this point Jane accepts Rodchester's hand in marriage because she is set financially and educationally enough to survive without him and is therefore not his dependent. Memorable Quotes and their SIGNIFICANCE.
Describe the significance of the opening scene.
The novel opens with Jane's Aunt Reed fireside with John, Eliza, and Georgiana. Mrs. Reed doesn't allow Jane to play with her cousins so she retreats to the other room, drawing and reading. Jane does not have familiarity with love. She doesn't know how to give or receive it. That
Describe the significance of the closing scene.
Jane returns to a broken Rochestor and marries him and has his child. Now they are equals since Jane has money and an education.
List importance characters and their significance.
Jane Eyre: our female protagonist. Bronte wrote Vs Bertha Rochester: Rochester Helen Burns (christ figure): serves as the Jesus figure of the novel: she speaks Latin, turns the other cheek, takes punishment, and looks to the greater good; she sets the good example just as Jesus did and remains friends with Jane even after she is accused of being a liar (just as Jesus ran among the sinners); dies in a halo of light from a disease that entirely separates her from her peers; Helen Burns essentially saves Jane Eyre from her anger and vengeance and potential life of harboring anger towards others Mr. Rochester vs St. John Eyre Rivers Mr. Brocklehurst: Ms. "Temple": is a temple of Jane during her time at Lowood. Red Room Analysis
Jane Eyre: from an early age, Jane gets the short end of the stick. She is a bit of a loner, doesn't play with the other children, and her parents both died long ago. Her aunt is evil to her, as is Mr. Brocklehurst upon finally escaping from her previous imprisonment.
Helen Burns: serves as the Jesus figure of the novel: she speaks Latin, turns the other cheek, takes punishment, and looks to the greater good; she sets the good example just as Jesus did and remains friends with Jane even after she is accused of being a liar (just as Jesus ran among the sinners); dies in a halo of light from a disease that entirely separates her from her peers; Helen Burns essentially saves Jane Eyre from her anger and vengeance and potential life of harboring anger towards others
Aunt Reed: evil, witch of an aunt. She acts as the evil stepmother figure throughout the novel. Cruel to Jane from the beginning, Aunt Reed never listens to Jane's side of things, always favoring her own children over her. She made a promise to her late husband to raise Jane as her own...and, well...she did a sucky job. Not a reedeeming character at all. Rude until she dies.
Mr. Brocklehurst: Head of Lowood school - cruel, unrelenting, uncaring. Bronte's representation of the Victorian reverence to religion over a spiritual relationship with a deity. Brocklehurst is hypocritical - making the girls cut their hair and wear modest clothes whilst his own daughters sport curls and velvet.
John Reed: Jane's son of a biscuit cousin. He's a rude troublemaker as a child, and he dies a gambling addicted, sad man. No redemption.
Georgiana Reed: Jane's characteristically beautiful cousin, and pompous to boot. She represents the Victorian obsession with vanity and good-looks - that looks are all that matter in life and finding a husband, as we see when Georgiana grows up to be a gold-digger young woman.
Eliza Reed: Jane's quieter cousin. She grows up to be a lesser Mr. Brocklehurst. She possesses the same ideals about religion: she is pious, reverent, and rigid. She lacks any spiritual relationship with a higher power and focuses instead on entering a convent to further elevate her religious status.
Adele Rochester: Jane's young French student, daughter (?) of Rochester. She constantly seeks attention in the same way Georgiana does as a child, which is frightening in my opinion. Jane acts as a positive influence on the child, giving her the affection, structure, and attention she needs to get a good education and quell her Georgiana-tendencies.
Mr. Rochester: broody, dark, passionate man of the story. ugh. Mixed feelings about him. He casts a spell over Jane from the moment she meets him - her life is never the same. He is moody and confusing and likes to play games (the gypsy thing, I mean, really?). Jane is attracted to him because of his fiery passion. He is not good-looking, which is Bronte's way of sticking it to the Victorian age, I guess.
Bertha Mason: The bat sh*t crazy wife of Rochester. He keeps her locked up for most of their marriage. Does he keep her locked up because she is crazy? Or is she crazy because he keeps her locked up? I'm going half and half on this one.
Grace Poole: Bertha's caretaker and the scapegoat of the novel. She takes the blame for the creepy, echoing laughter, the fire in Rochester's room, and really anything weird going on at Thornfield. Of course, she takes the blame (and the accompanying enormous salary) willingly.
Blanche Ingram: The gold-digging, materialistic woman set out to marry Rochester for his money. She represents the typical Victorian mindset - marry for money and marry well.
St. John Rivers: Jane's caretaker turned cousin towards the end of the novel. Another Eliza-Brocklehurst cross breed of a character, St. John is stoic, rigid, and cold. He is completely driven in his religious endeavors and refuses to let love, infatuation, passion, or lust deter him from his Heavenly rewards. He refuses to marry the woman he loves (Miss Oliver) because of it.
Diane and Mary Rivers: Jane's other family - her two cousins who graciously take Jane in when she needs help. They are truly kind women, caring for Jane before even knowing her identity. They act as foils for Eliza and Georgiana and John, who were the only family Jane knew of and were quite cruel.
Author: Charlotte Bronte
Date of Publication: 1847
Literary Period: Victorian
Genre: Gothic
Describe the setting and then explain the relevance of the setting.
The novel progresses through these five locations from beginning to end.
Gateshead is where the story begins. Jane lives here with the cold cousins and aunt who is bound by the dying words of Jane's uncle to keep her. At Gateshead Jane is angry and shy.
Lowood is where Jane meets Helen Burns who teaches Jane humility and true Christianity rather than religion. Jane matures into a young woman with skills so that she can hold her own in society.
Thornfield is Jane's first job as a governess. Here she meets Rodchester (NOOOOO!!!!!)
Moor's House is where Jane goes after running away from Thornfield. She is saved from near death by St. John and family who end up being her other set of cousins
Ferndean Hall is another one of Rodchester's properties where he and Jane end up living together. At this point Jane accepts Rodchester's hand in marriage because she is set financially and educationally enough to survive without him and is therefore not his dependent.
Themes (These statements should be complete sentences and completely developed ideas)
Religion vs Christianity
Through juxtaposition of characters like Helen Burns and Eliza Reed Bronte expresses the difference between religion with its strict rules and guidelines and true Christianity which is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Love vs. Obligation
Bronte shows
Plot Summary (Please do not copy and paste. Simply list the high points of the novel) - Consider creating a visual flow chart or graph and posting it here.
Gateshead is where the story begins. Jane lives here with the cold cousins and aunt who is bound by the dying words of Jane's uncle to keep her. At Gateshead Jane is angry and shy.
Lowood is where Jane meets Helen Burns who teaches Jane humility and true Christianity rather than religion. Jane matures into a young woman with skills so that she can hold her own in society.
Thornfield is Jane's first job as a governess. Here she meets Rodchester (NOOOOO!!!!!)
Moor's House is where Jane goes after running away from Thornfield. She is saved from near death by St. John and family who end up being her other set of cousins
Ferndean Hall is another one of Rodchester's properties where he and Jane end up living together. At this point Jane accepts Rodchester's hand in marriage because she is set financially and educationally enough to survive without him and is therefore not his dependent.
Memorable Quotes and their SIGNIFICANCE.
Describe the significance of the opening scene.
The novel opens with Jane's Aunt Reed fireside with John, Eliza, and Georgiana. Mrs. Reed doesn't allow Jane to play with her cousins so she retreats to the other room, drawing and reading. Jane does not have familiarity with love. She doesn't know how to give or receive it. That
Describe the significance of the closing scene.
Jane returns to a broken Rochestor and marries him and has his child. Now they are equals since Jane has money and an education.
List importance characters and their significance.
Jane Eyre: our female protagonist. Bronte wrote
Vs
Bertha Rochester: Rochester
Helen Burns (christ figure): serves as the Jesus figure of the novel: she speaks Latin, turns the other cheek, takes punishment, and looks to the greater good; she sets the good example just as Jesus did and remains friends with Jane even after she is accused of being a liar (just as Jesus ran among the sinners); dies in a halo of light from a disease that entirely separates her from her peers; Helen Burns essentially saves Jane Eyre from her anger and vengeance and potential life of harboring anger towards others
Mr. Rochester
vs
St. John Eyre Rivers
Mr. Brocklehurst:
Ms. "Temple": is a temple of Jane during her time at Lowood.
Red Room Analysis